Black Rose a test of loyalty and friendship
by Erisa-chan
Summary: The Pokemon Professor is living a pretty ordinary life until three young women appear. Uh, that's the best spoiler-free summary I can give you guys.


Cheyenne silently watched Professor Sycamore's conversation with a young boy from behind a wall. He explained to the boy about the Kalos region and about Pokémon. She smiled to herself, thinking about how intelligent the professor was.

After the boy ran off, she approached the professor. "Augustine. Nice briefing."

"Thanks, Cheyenne. Someone had to do it, anyway."

She laughed. "You looked so cool there."

He puffed out his cheeks. "Aren't I always cool?"

The both of them laughed until they were interrupted by the rumbling of the professor's stomach.

"Fancy that," Cheyenne began, "I was just about to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me."

The two of them walked to one of the many cafés in Lumiose City. After they had eaten enough, Cheyenne paid the bill. On the way back to the laboratory, Cheyenne stopped in her tracks.

"Omo-I forgot to collect my sword!"

Professor Sycamore, likewise, stopped in his tracks. "Uhh...sword?"

"Yeah, sword. A real one, too. Brand new. It's my birthday tomorrow, and I want to polish it a bit for the party."

Augustine was about to question the use of a sword at a birthday party, when he suddenly realised something. He had forgotten all about Cheyenne's birthday! Thankfully, it was only 1pm, and most of the shops were still open.

"Chey? I'm...going to browse a store somewhere. Can you go back to the lab first?"

She gave him an eye scan. "Augustine? It's November 23. A public holiday. No shops are open."

Sycamore took a sharp breath, which startled Cheyenne a little. "What do you need, Augustine?"

He didn't dare answer that question, knowing that the very next minute his dear Cheyenne could possibly be waving a sharp sword around.

"Ah, well. I'll just go collect that sword now. Come with me if you'd like."

She walked down a small alley and opened a hidden door. It led to a very asian-fusion house. Nobody appeared to be home, but Cheyenne knocked on one of the doors in the hallway.

"爷爷？我回来了，我带来了奥古斯丁。你可以打倒剑?"

Augustine recognised this language to be Chinese, but he was amazed that someone in the Kalos region spoke it, let alone an entire family. The door opened and an elderly asian man came out - Cheyenne's grandfather. He was clearly holding something behind his back, though Augustine could not see what it was.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh! Oh! My dear Chey and her boyfriend? You look good together, though you (he pointed to Augustine) are too scrawny. You must work out more if you are to court my Chey-"

"Yéye, please. We're just good friends, that's all."

The old man could have winked at Augustine, but it was impossible to tell because of his narrow eyes.

"Ah! So, you wanted the sword, my little Chey?"

Cheyenne placed her hands on her hips. "Yéye, it's almost my 27th birthday, and I've forgotten to collect the sword until now. I'm sorry..."

He smiled a wide, yellow-toothed smile. "Then, here you go!" The elderly man suddenly jumped into a kung-fu pose, and twirled the sword around his body before he threw it at Cheyenne, who jump-caught it. This made Sycamore feel a little uneasy. He had skillfully twirled the sword in the air so that she would catch the handle instead of the blade, and she had jump-caught this sword and skillfully twirled it around again, before her grandfather handed over the sheath.

On the way back to the laboratory, Augustine turned to Cheyenne. "Doesn't this weather...remind you of something?"

Cheyenne looked up. It was a beautiful day, yet something felt...off. The air was fragrant, yet something felt off. It was very strange, and Cheyenne had to agree that it was familiar.

"That's right...what happened 2 years ago, with Mackenzie and Lyn..."

Cheyenne closed her eyes for a moment and the event from two years ago flashed in her mind.

"...No! I won't let you do this!"

"You witch!"

"He's mine!"

"No, he's MINE, and YOU can't do anything about it!"

"Says who?!"

"Says ME! N is MINE! Just GET OUT of my LIFE!"

"Not likely! Cheyenne, give me a hand!"

Cheyenne took a sharp breath and crumpled to the floor. Augustine held her for a while, then, when she was confident enough to stand, he supported her back.

"Chey, are you alright? You kind of collapsed without warning."

She lowered her head, and started to cry. The professor calmed her down.

"I...thank you, Augustine. It's just...now that I think about it, I've betrayed both of my friends, haven't I?"

Sycamore dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue, then stroked her face affectionately. "No, that's incorrect. Your friends betrayed you."

Cheyenne smiled uneasily, then spoke in a wobbling voice. "Really? I mean, both Mack and Lyn wanted N, but N only liked Lyn. Mack didn't take it very well...so the argument started. At one point, Mack wanted me to help her pin Lyn to the ground, but I could never do that. Not to Lyn, no. Both of them were being total yanderes. I'm still in touch with Lyn - she's engaged to N now - but I'm more worried about Mack..."

Augustine kissed her cheek. "Stop thinking about it; you're only going to make yourself more depressed."

"Ah-you're right. But, I can never do that. Not after the accident."

The professor looked away. "The accident..." he echoed.

Cheyenne closed her eyes and tried to remember everything she could about the accident.

It was a cold Wednesday afternoon when it happened. Cheyenne was with Mack, who she had soothed after the event that occurred previously. Cheyenne had given a very stern talk to both Mack and Lyn, and they made amends. However, Mack was doing her best to avoid N and Lyn, especially if they were together. That was Cheyenne's role.

On their afternoon stroll, Cheyenne suggested that they stop for a bit at a café. So they did, but nobody seemed to be staffing it, though it was open. Muffled sounds were coming from the kitchen, and Mack noticed strands of long green hair around the café. She opened the kitchen door and the muffled sounds became louder. Cheyenne had tripped over a table and was too late when it happened.

Mackenzie had spotted N and Lyn copping off on the kitchen floor.

**Author's musings: Well! I'm being pretty nasty to poor Mackenzie, aren't I? Oh well. If people pose reviews, can they tell me two things...**

**a) Who is your favourite pairing? It can be yuri for all I care.**

**b) What is your favourite line or character?**


End file.
